Microsoft teams up with Digg

Freezes out Google

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Microsoft says it has signed an agreement to provide advertising on news voting site Digg. The deal is a significant win for Microsoft, as it battles the other big players in the competition for online advertising space.

Microsoft has supplanted Google to become Digg 's provider of display and contextual advertising for a three-year period. The two companies have also agreed to work together on future technology and advertising initiatives.

"We believe advertisers will welcome Microsoft and Digg's combined strengths to forge more meaningful connections online," said Steve Berkowitz, chief of the Online Services Group at Microsoft.

Jay Adelson, CEO of Digg, said: "As the Digg audience continues to grow and diversify, we believe that this initiative with Microsoft, and the resources that it provides, will enable us to focus less on developing an advertising infrastructure and more on developing new and innovative features for the site."

According to the joint release from Digg and Microsoft, Digg now has more than 17 million unique monthly visitors.